Sour Cream Pear Pie

Sour Cream Pear Pie Pears are my most favorite fruit. Ever since I tasted a tiny, expensive piece of pear tart (with canned pears) in Japan long time ago, I’ve been in love with the fruit. One of the happiest moments of my stay in the U.S. was when I found a pile of green pears at a local supermarket, and at a low price!! I envy all the folks who can eat fresh pears whenever they want!!! We do have nashi in Japan, which were called “Japanese apples ” in a supermarket in Miss, IIRC. Our nashi with round shape and brown skin taste a little different from American pears and not commonly used in baking sweets. * These days, a kind of pear called “La France” is available in Japan, but it’s still a little different from the kind I loved in the U.S. (and rather expensive). The good thing is that, unlike our nashi, the “La France” is suitable for sweets like pies, cakes and tarts…. So, today, I tried out the recipe of “Sour Cream Pear Pie” in the Women’s Circle For Cooks on the Go (1992) that I mentioned before. This one looked so attractive to me because it uses sour cream, not custard cream like many other pies. I couldn’t imagine what the taste would be like with the sour cream, so I just HAD TO try it. I didn’t have an unbaked pastry shell from the store, so I made a tart shell from the orange tart recipe. Placing the sliced pears on top was my idea, but maybe not a good one, because it took longer for the pie to get done. After tasting … Well, the taste of baked pears with the cream is wonderful. The only thing is that before I take a bite, some kind of distinctive smell bothers me a little. I don’t know if it’s from the pears or the sour cream…. I guess I like custard cream better for this kind of pie. * I didn't know this before, but looks like our nashi is also used for pies and tarts a lot these days. I found many recipes on the net. Sorry! :P